A new joint report by NTI and the Russian-based Center for Energy and Security Studies highlights key projects the United States and Russia can take on to innovate and build trust in the nuclear sphere.

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China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)

中国航天科技集团公司; formerly part of the China Aerospace Corporation (also called CASC)

Location:

Beijing, China

Subordinate To:

General Armaments Department, People’s Liberation Army[1]

Size:

120,000 employees, including more than 30 scholars of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE)[2]

Facility Status:

Operational

To increase competition and innovation in China’s missile and aerospace sector, in 1999 the State Council divided the China Aerospace Corporation into the China Aerospace and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the China Aerospace and Industry Corporation (CASIC).[3] CASC engages in the research, design, manufacture and launch of space systems, as well as long-range strategic ballistic missiles and their components. In 2008, CASC consolidated resources to develop a division focusing on “inertial measurement units, telemetry, and missile-related microelectronics, such as the high performance digital signal processors and field programmable gate arrays that are needed for long-range precision strike at high speeds and extreme temperature conditions.”[4]

In 2009, CASC acquired China Satellite Communications Corporation (China Satcom), expanding its activities into the operation of telecommunications satellites.[5] CASC also offers defense systems, such as such as vehicle air defense, ship-to-air missile, surface-to-air, and portable missile weapon systems, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), precision guided bombs, and guided multiple-launch rockets.[6]

As with other defense conglomerates in China, the principal actors in many of these industries are CASC’s subordinate enterprises. CASC controls over 125 enterprises.[9] The following are most notable:

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright 2017.